Latch



July I4, 1925.

A. ROTZELL LATCH Filed May 28, 1924 lberjoell ENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEYence characters Patented July 14, 1925s UNITED STATES .ALBERT ROTZELL,OF STROUDSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

LATCH.

.Application filed May 28,

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT Ro'rznnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Stroudsburg, in the county ot Monroe and Stat-e ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvementsl in Latches, ofwhich the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to latches.

The object is to provide alatch which may be readily stamped from` sheetmetal, and is especially adapted for use in connection with trunks, suitcases, chests, lunch boxes, and other containers, the presentapplication being a companion application'to one led by me ot even dateherewith tor a patent on a lunch box. y

Another object is to provide a strong and durable and cheaplymanufactured device or' this character, composed ot few parts, which.may bereadilv installed in position on the members to be connectedtogether, and which may, by a simple manipulation, be caused to be`fastened together without danger of becoming accidentally unfastened,and just as easily unfastened to per mit access to the container. l

A full and complete understanding ot the invention may be obtained froma consideration of the l'ollowingdetailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecitication, it being understood that while the drawing shows apractical form of the invention, the latter is not to be confined tostrict conformity with the showing thereof, but may be changed ormodiiied, so long as such changes or 'modilications mark no materialdeparture from the salient features of the' invention, as speciiicallypointed out in the appended claims. Y l

In the drawing, in which similar reterdesignate corresponding partsthroughout the several figures:

Figure l is al pei'spectivewiew of the improved latch in engagedposition;

Figure 2 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view through the. same,the' coacting members being latched together;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 2, the parts being unlatched;

Figure t is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on the line iofFigure 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure Vis a similar view taken on the 1924.-, Serial No. 716,419.

line 5-5 of Figure 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of the keeper frame;

Figure 7 is a similar view of the sliding keeper; v

Figure 8 is a detail perspective `of the swinging latch det-ached fromits attaching plate.

rThe invention consists of two coacting members or parts, one member orpart carrying a swinging latch, which is preferably atf tached to thebody of a trunk, case, chest or box, while the other member or partembodying-,means `for coaction with the said latch and having a slidingkeeper, is prefer-` ably attached to the cover or closure of saidcontainer, though it is to be understood that the positions of the twocoacting members may be reversed.

The second-named member or part coml priseswhat may be termed 'a keeperframe Yformed of a single strip of suitable sheet metal. such as brass,which may be nickel plated or lotherwise treated to withstand wear andexposure. The said keeper frame includes a. base plate l having theterminal portions of the strip constituting the same returned thereupon,as at 2, toprovide relatively heavy, strong and `durable attaching ears,which are suitably apertured for the reception of rivets 3, or othert'asteners, for rigidly holding the frame to the front lface of thecover or lid, as before stated.

The terminals of the sheet of metal are directed rtowards each other andare bent outwardly at an anglevto provide spaced, dove-tailed V* guideset extending. from top tobottom of 'the base plate and equi-.distantfrom the vertical center thereof.

The base plate is provided at its top edge with an integral, outstandingstop flange 5, which voverlaps the upper lends of the guides and has itsend edges bevelled to conform to the shape of said guides. The loweredge of the base plate is likewise provided with an, integral,outstanding locking'flange 6,'whic`h is elevated somewhat ,abovey Vthelower y.ends of the guides and has its ends spaced from the same toprovide passa-geways, ltor a purpose to be explained. v

A sliding keeper i-s mounted for up and down sliding movement within theguides 4, and comprises a plateextending from the inner edge of oneguide to the opposite inner IDG edge of thel other guide, the verticaledges of saidplate beingl provided with integral' wings 8 bent at anangle to conform to the shape of said guides and fitting beneath the 5same, and extending to a point adjacent to the base plate, so that thekeeper may be freely moved up or down and is prevented from dislodgementfrom between the guides. The plate. 7 extends somewhat above the l0upper ends of thevwings and is bent outwardly and thence inwardly uponitself to form a linger piece 9, the terminal being projected inwardlybeyond the inner face of the plate to forni an abutment flange 10, whichlies at all times above the aforesaid stop flange 5, and is adapted,when the sliding keeper is lowered, to abut against the same and supportsaid keeper at the proper elevation. When the abutment 10 is resting onthe flange 5, the lower edge of the plate 7 Vis located belowthe lockingflange 6, and the sidewings 8 occupy the passageways at either end ofsaid flange 6, and when the said keeper iselevated by means of thefinger piece 9, the lower edge of said plate 7 uncovers the saidvflange6, and the upward movements-'isY arrested by the 'upper ends of Y thewings 8 abutting against the under face of the stop flange 5, as clearlyshown in Figure 3 of the drawing. An attaching plate 11, preferably ofsonic ornamental design is suitably apertured for the reception ofrivets 12 for fastening the same to theother member of the container onwhich the latch is to be used, and said plate 11 is provided at itsupper edge with suitable hinge eyes 13V between which the complementaryhinge element 14 of a swinging latch member 15 is pivoted by a pin 16,thus permitting the swinging latch to be swung up or down.

The swinging latch member comprises a plate extending parallel to thehinge members and lhaving its ends bent outwardly and directedtowardseacli other to formvclamps 17, which securely clamp the'terminalfoot portions of a bowed handle 18, eXtendin outwardly from the latch,and adapted to be grasped by the fingers to swing the said latch up ordown. The upper edge of the latch plate 15r is provided with an upwardlyand outwardlyfextending tongue 19, which terminates in an inwardlydirected lip 20 and the parts are so associated and secured 5D inposition as'to cause the said lip 20 to engage over the aforesaidlocking flange 6 when the latch is swung upwardly as shown in Figure 2.In order to permit of such engagement, however, the sliding keeper 7 G0must be elevated, as shown in Figure 3,

when the lower edge of the plate 7 is sufficiently above the-flange 6'as to permit the lip 2O to be so engaged,'after which the keeper plate7 is lowered until the abutment 10 strikes the stop flange 5, when thedownward movement is arrested. In this posi-v tion, the lower edge ofthe keeper prevents the outward swinging movement of the latch as alatching means on trunks, and for general purposes, the same having fewparts to become broken or deranged, and the entire device may be formedby simple stamping vprocess from sheet metal, and bent and formed intoshape to accomplish the desired resulti f c i i What is claimed is -V iy 1. A latch comprising a keeper frame adapted to be attached to anelement, said.. frame comprising spaced, substantially v ertical,inclined guide flanges, a lower locking flange extending horizontallybetween the gui e iianges and having its ends spaced therefrom a slidingkeeper plate mounted between the guides and having side wings adapted toslide beneath the guides to pre# vent dislodgment of the keeper and tostraddle the locking flange, and a latch member hinged to the otherelement and having a lip to engage the lockingfiange and being heldthereto when the keeper is slid downwardly to cover the latch.`

2. A device of the class described comprise ing two coacting' membersadapted to be attached respectively totwo parts to be fastened together,one of said enacting niem- VVbers comprising alongitudinal guideway, aslidable keeper mounted in the 'guideway, means for holding the keeperin the geld? way, means for limiting the sliding 'moveinentofthe same, atrans-verse outstanding locking flange located within the guideway, theother coacting member comprising an attaching plate, a swinging latchhinged thereto'and having ain inturned lip adapted to hook over thesaidlocking fiange` when the latch is swung, said lip and flange beingheld in engagement when the keeper haS been moved into covering relationtheretoi 3. "A latch comprising a keeper framellaw ing meansy forattachment to one member;` central guideway, a transverse, outstanding'locking flange located at one end of the guideway, aftra'nsverse stopflange 'located' at the other'end thereof, a slidable keeper havingmarginal wings mounted in the guideway, said keeper having a transverse,inwardly projecting abutment adapted to engage the said stop flangewhenmoved in one direction, and a swinging llatch hinged to the othermember and having a lip for engagement with the locking 'flange andadapted to beheld thereto by the keeper when the same is lowered.

4. A latch. comprising a keeper frame formed with attachngears at each"Yend lUll thereof and having Centrally disposed, spaced, dove-tailedguides, a transverse outstanding locking flange formed on the base ofthe frame between the guides and adjacent to one end thereof, atransverse stop flange formed on said frame at the other end of theguides, a sliding keeper having inclined side wings mounted within theguides, said wings being shorter than the guides and adapted to strikethe stop flange to limit the sliding movement of the keeper in onedirection, and a hinged latch having a lip and adapted to be swung toengage with the said locking flange and to be held thereto by the keeperwhen the same is in covering relation.

5. A latch comprising a keeper frame adapted to be attached to anelement, said frame comprising spaced, vertical, inclined guide flanges,a horizontal stop flange joining the upper ends of the guides, a lowerlocking llange extending horizontally between the guides and having itsends spa-ced, therefrom, a sliding keeper plate mounted between theguides and having side wings adapted to slide beneath the guides toprevent dislodginent of the keeper and t straddle the locking flange,said plate also having a rearwardly extending abutment flange adapted tostrike the stop flange when the lower end of the keeper is over thelatter to prevent further downward movement, the upper ends of saidwings contacting with the stop flange to limit the upward movement ofthe keeper, and a latch member hinged to the other element and having alip to engage the locking flange and held thereto when the keeper isslid downwardly to cover the latch.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have, heretoafliXed my signature.

ALBERT ROTZELL.

